DISQUS

Consumerism Commentary: 5 Stupid Financial Mistakes I Made in 2007: Failing to Establish a Spending Budget

  • Colin · 1 year ago
    Two Words: Pear Budget. That is an awesome utility. Track your spending for a month or so and use that as a guideline for your initial budget. Put that information into Pear Budget and it will analyze the data for you.

    To make things even easier, I just print out the data entry page and write in numbers whenever I make a purchase, then input the data once a month. Couldn't be easier. It also forces me to double check my numbers against my bank and credit card statements. A great control mechanism.

    pearbudget.com
  • The Saving Freak · 1 year ago
    We use a budget form in excel in all of our financial counseling appointments. This allows us to show people where they are over spending and to reign in that spending.
  • Eden · 1 year ago
    I'm surprised you've had a hard time trackiong your spending, being as detailed oriented as you are.

    I enter everything I spend into Quicken and I have categories for my spending (of course), things like eating out (with sub categories for eating out at work and other things), entertainment, clothing, golf, etc...

    I don't use Quicken to manage my budget though. I do that in Excel. I plan how much I will spend in each category and I run a Quicken report each week and import that data to Excel. That way I can't get too far off my budget, even if I have a really bad week. Lastly, I am very willing to shift budget limits during the month when needed- that's what makes it realistic to follow each month.
  • Another Dollar · 1 year ago
    I don't try to budget my spending much... only to the extent that I budget my savings, and that leaves me with a certain amount to spend. I think that typically works better.
  • Steve · 1 year ago
    Microsoft Money. Been using it since '95 and I can't imagine life without it. It's a bit tedious to setup all the accounts at first but once done the reporting, tracking and forecasting are invaluable tools.
  • Jon · 1 year ago
    I have used yodlee now for about a year and love it. I believe it even pulled up all my previous transaction history when I set up all my accounts. I highly recommend playing around with it more and setting it up with all of your accounts.
  • susan · 1 year ago
    I do my budget on a note pad and have for the past 10 years. I have a mortage of less than 20% of take home pay and no other debt. I never track incidental spending but get cash every week and spend it however I want/need. When I started my financial journey I had about $20,000 in debt and I was a renter. Can't argue with success!